If one gets the chance to stand atop the Bernini colonnades of St. Peter’s Square, it’s delightful to discover that the hills and trees of the Roman horizon boast the …
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“One of the good things about a Catholic church is that it isn’t respectable…You can find anyone in it, from duchesses to whores, from tramps to kings.” — Dame Philippa …
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Before he was known for anything else, Pope Francis was known as “the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years.” As we absorb the news of Francis’ death and anticipate …
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As the world absorbs the news of the death of Pope Francis — and before the ever-busy oddsmakers and deep insiders begin the game of papabile speculation that accompanies every …
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In Lent, we expect the sojourn through the desert, encountering spiritual heat, thirst, mirages that disappear as we draw near to them. Sometimes, we find ourselves encountering Christ there and …
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It’s OK, we can say it (you know it, and I know it): Compared to our Orthodox brethren and our Muslim friends, the Catholic idea of required fasting is — …
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So, at the end of 2023, I published my “Catholic Wish List” for 2024, laying out some hopes for the church that seemed, if not “easy,” then at least reasonable …
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Beyond my usual list of things to be grateful for — mercy, family, reasonable health, employment, the elders still among us and the children all around — I am particularly …
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“The Road to Family Missionary Discipleship”Ryan and Mary Rose Verret with Peter Jesserer Smith, Witness to Love (2023)203 pages, $19.95 “Current efforts in standard (Catholic) marriage preparation are not working,” …
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We all have them, those desperate times, particularly in the wee small hours of the morning, when illness or anxiety pulls us up from our beds and down to our …
